City Council slams brakes on red light camera program

American Traffic Solutions compiled a mashup of the top worst red light fails.
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This sign on Everhart Road near the intersection of Holly Road marks one of two sites where an independent company showcased stoplight cameras to remotely ticket red light runners.(Photo11: Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times file)Buy Photo

Corpus Christi's widely unpopular red light camera program is coming to a screeching halt this spring.

The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to end the red light camera program after a review of the program's effectiveness over a decade showed few meaningful results.

"My recommendation after review is that we do not renew this program — that we cut ties and move on," Police Chief Mike Markle told the City Council. "When you have the volume of hundreds of thousands of vehicles passing through intersections and you're moving numbers by single digits, you’re not really improving much."

The average number of crashes annually decreased at 11 of the 13 intersections monitored as part of the program, but only one intersection saw a decrease in the annual crash rate above eight, according to council documents. Additionally, the number of crashes with injuries increased at most intersections, records show.

The cameras will no longer be in effect once the contract ends April 26.

Mayor Pro-tem Carolyn Vaughn praised the council's decision and said the program violated residents' constitutional rights because the captured images don't show who is driving the vehicles that commit traffic offenses.

"If someone else is driving my car, I get a ticket and can't go to court," she said. "So I just have to pay the fine. That's not right."

City Councilwoman Lucy Rubio said in most cases offenders deserved the citations, but added the program didn't accomplish the intended effect.

"I'm conflicted, but I respect (Police Chief Mike Markle's) opinion, and I can see that it hasn't made much of a difference," she said.

The city has used the cameras for nearly a decade.

City Hall entered into a contract with REDFLEX to monitor for red light traffic violations in 2007. Initially, there were 10 cameras snapping photos, and now there are 12 cameras that monitor 11 intersections, according to council documents.

In total, the program has resulted in more than 78,000 traffic violations, and more than 35,000 of those were cases of the cameras triggering after a right turn at a red light.

The camera at Staples Street and Williams Drive has been the most active with more than 15,000 approved violations (more than 11,000 right turn on red captures). That intersection also experienced the greatest decrease in the average number of crashes.

Before the camera was installed, there were about 32 crashes per year, according to data from 2005 to 2006. Data from after the camera was used shows an average annual crash rate of nine, based on data from 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Records show the program led to more than $1.8 million in revenue in 2016, but the city collected about $337,000 with the same amount being owed to the state after associated fees.

Vaughn said the financials were not important because the city "shouldn't make money off of safety."